Which to use
“défis” and “démos” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,971
- “défis” frequency rank
- #38,767
- “démos” frequency rank
- 44738
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défis | démos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de défi. | Pluriel de démo. |
Where the eye mixes défis and démos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. défis and démos follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between défis and démos
A purely visual mix-up. défis (\de.fi\) and démos (\de.mo\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44738, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défis is recorded at frequency rank #5,971, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.fi\. démos is at rank #38,767, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.mo\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 44738, this pair ranks #208,194 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défis vs démos
Shared letters: dsé. Private to "défis": fi. Private to "démos": mo.
"défis" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "démos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "défis" for "démos" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "défis" or "démos" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "défis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "démos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #208,194 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défis" and "démos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "DDoS vs démos". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #208,194 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.